


Repayment

by slinkinginshadows



Series: Royal Twins AU [3]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Emetophobia, Enemies to Friends, M/M, Magical Pregnancy, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-19 19:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20215345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slinkinginshadows/pseuds/slinkinginshadows
Summary: Bakura finds a way to bring a few of his people back, and as a bonus, it's going to inconvenience the hell out of the Pharaoh. Too bad it's a lot easier to hate someone you've never met than if you're stuck together for months on end...





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atem wakes up in a strange place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I intended this to be like the others in the series at first but the more I thought about it, the more I really wanted to dig into that interesting character development. I'll change the tag to 'enemies to friends to lovers' if it gets to that point- it does in the main series, but who knows in this one? 
> 
> Anyways, this can be read without reading the more kink-heavy stuff in the rest of the series. I tried to make it so the ones that are separate from the 'main' canon "Royal Blood" can be read without it. There isn't going to be any sexual content, (or sexual assault implied, it's ~magic~ because I really don't want to deal with that) hence the 'teen' tag- idk if I'll write birth for this, but it'll bump up the rating and will just be a single chapter if it is there. 
> 
> All chapters will have content warnings for stuff like emetophobia or describing stuff like body horror, but feel free to ask for more tags if it's needed!
> 
> I've got a few chapters written so I'll try to update pretty regularly! Chapter lengths will probably vary a lot, this one's on the shorter end just to get started.

Atem stirred, taking only half a second to realize that his hands were bound in heavy chains and half a second more for his eyes to fly open and try and survey his surroundings.

He was in a cave. Scattered around him were small personal artifacts- a sleeping mat, a box with some cloth that could be a shendyt, and a small pot, probably for cooking. The first rays of Ra’s light were beginning to filter in, but he couldn’t help shivering from the chill. He was used to a blanket at night, and was wearing only a shendyt himself. He must have been taken asleep, or he would have at least had a robe on. That or his captor had decided to strip and redress him, the idea knotting up his stomach.

Well,  _ something  _ was knotting up his stomach- he could feel faint churning starting to slink around his belly like a cobra waiting to strike.

“Ah, so the mighty god-king wakes.” 

Atem’s head swiveled to see who had spoken, eyes catching only a red cloak and silver hair before taking in the rest. It was a man with a strong-looking body, with a scar below his left eye and a face that showed hardship. However, Atem nearly jolted as he took in the facial features- he didn’t look to be much older than Atem himself was.

“Who are you?”

“The King of Thieves.” The man grabbed Atem’s upper arm, wrenching him up to a standing position, and the chains clinked, weighing him down.

“I assumed you were a rumor,” Atem said through gritted teeth, getting a hyena laugh in return.

“I’m as real as you are, and you’re  _ mine  _ now.” The second part was practically hissed. “And you’re going to give me what I want. You lived in luxury while your people starved, and you’ll pay for it.”

“They’ll find us, and you’ll be executed,” Atem said. He’d been Pharoah for barely a year, and while he’d trained, without his Diadhank, he wasn’t sure what he could do to a man whose very grip made it clear a physical struggle would be pointless.

“They’ll never find us unless I want them to.” The Thief King grinned, gripping Atem’s chin. “My magic is too strong. And my plan’s already started- even if they did find us, you can’t stop it.”

“What plan?” Atem tried to turn his head, but his captor’s grip was like iron.

“You’ll find out.” He shoved Atem back down, and he fought back a cry when his butt hit the hard ground. “This is going to be _ fun. _ ”

Somehow, Atem knew he meant it only was going to be fun for  _ him _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are really appreciated, especially on this fic. I wanted this to be slowburn but normally my fics are oneshots that cap out at like 2000 so let's so how long _that_ lasts.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atem learns a few things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for vomit, but it's not described in detail.

The Thief King had deigned to tell Atem his name- he suspected it was fake, but Bakura was better than ‘King’, and simply calling him ‘Thief’ just reminded Atem he’d been stolen like gold from a tomb.

Bakura wouldn’t tell him what he’d done, but it started with deep nausea. His mouth tasted like bile, and often he’d been shoved to a small area outside the cave that was tucked into the rock so he couldn’t be seen by anyone passing, (although he hadn’t seen or heard anyone) but wouldn’t make a mess inside. The Egyptian sun beating down only made the sickness worse, and more than once, he simply passed out, sick smell and queasiness a terrible combination. He was still chained up, but Bakura got sick of dumping water on him to clean him, so he was given a jug he managed to maneuver so he could reach it easily when he felt his stomach begin to bubble.

He only could eat whatever Bakura tossed at him- enough to survive on, but he was always hungry. Maybe it was boredom, because he was usually content with less back at the palace. Here, he was tied down and only allowed to walk around so Bakura didn’t have to clean up when he used the bathroom. (Which also seemed to be happening more than usual.) It was terribly boring, especially when Bakura left to train or get food, and any attempts to get conversation out of his captor were fruitless.

It wasn’t until his stomach began to swell that he realized what it might be. He’d seen magic do plenty, after all, nothing was truly off limits if someone had the power and the will.

“What did you do to me?” Atem had been trying to count the days, but it was hard to keep track when he wasn’t allowed so much as a stone to mark the wall. It had been at near two months, though, and the soft flesh of his belly had hardened and curved outwards.

“I’m sure if you think for long enough, you’ll figure it out,” Bakura said, stuffing a piece of date in Atem’s mouth. Atem swallowed, feeling his stomach whine for more. His mouth watered for roast pig and sweetbreads, and he had a sinking feeling that cravings were only another symptom in the checklist of what he was desperately hoping wasn’t the truth.

He tried to stay indifferent, threaten Bakura with what would happen once he was found, but he was barely 19, and his changing body scared him. He muffled sobs when Bakura was out or asleep, body sore from the chains and mind going crazy with under-stimulation. He was used to full days, either Pharaoh's duties or training with Mana and Mahad, and being shoved to the back of a cave was slowly driving him insane. 

“Let me go outside, besides that little area.”

“No.”

“I don’t have my Diadhank, you know I can’t use that much magic without it.” Atem practically pleaded. “No one comes this way, but trust me, if my mind breaks of boredom I’m going to be a lot less pleasant to be around.”

“All you do is complain now, it won’t be much different,” Bakura said dismissively. 

“I know what you did to me,” Atem said after a pause. “You need me healthy, don’t you?”

Bakura turned at that. “So you finally figured it out.”

“You used magic to…” Atem looked down at the way his stomach jutted out like a stray rock on a cliff. “To _ impregnate _me.”

Bakura threw his head back in one of those hyena laughs that made Atem grit his teeth. “Now that’s a word for it!” He grinned. “You guessed it, _ prince _. But I don’t need you healthy- I just need you alive.” He pulled a knife out, dragging it down Atem’s belly. “As we speak, they’re sucking the life out of you to fuel their own growth, and as soon as they’re out, you’re useless to me.” 

Atem swallowed. “Did- did you…?”

“Do it when you were asleep? No, they’re very special, and simply fucking them into you wouldn’t get what I wanted. Your family is why they were mere broken souls, and when you help rebuild them, think of it as repayment.”

“Broken souls?” This was the first motive Bakura had given beside a mere hatred for the royal family due to class inequality. Something he supposed he could understand, but it felt… personal, to not only kidnap him but do something like _ this_.

“Do you know where the Millennium Items came from?” Bakura’s grip tightened on the knife, and Atem’s breathing became shallow, fearing the blade would stab him. He chose his words carefully

“A ritual that my uncle did, to help us have a weapon against invaders.”

“Do you know what that ritual was?” Bakura’s voice was seething with more anger than Atem had ever heard in his life, and pain dripped through his tone like blood through fingers.

“I… I don’t.” Atem admitted.

“They gathered up a peasant village, sacrificing every one of them to make the gold for those fancy _ trinkets _.” Bakura hissed. “Their souls are cursed, unable to move on… and then that power is leveled against the lowest rungs of society who do what they must to survive.”

“Why would I ever believe slander like that?” Atem’s eyes were wide.

“Haven’t you ever wondered why the Items use shadow magic, why they’re so powerful? Light magic can’t control souls the way they can.” Bakura said. “I was barely four, and I escaped with my life after watching my family and village get turned to ash while the soldiers laughed.” He tucked the knife into his belt, fingers and nail pressing down into Atem’s stomach enough to make Atem squirm. “Their power, their anger fuels my magic, and I managed to find a way to save a few of their souls.” Deeper, deeper, thumb digging into a growing stretch mark. “I could merge a few together, create a full soul, and put it into a host. They’ll be new, and they’ll be able to move on once they die… after they help me to destroy everything you hold dear.”

“I-” Atem’s mind was spinning, dizzy with new revelations. “I- I didn’t know.”

Bakura shoved him down on the stone. “Then I’ll show you. We leave at dawn, and you’ll see what your family did to mine.”

Atem could only watch as Bakura turned to make some soup, back shaking even though he couldn’t hear any crying, and tried to run back through his memory for anything that would prove this was just a cruel joke. That Bakura was trying to turn him against the people he’d grown up trusting.

By the time Ra had set, he still had nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that a dude probably wouldn't guess 'pregnancy!' as a first thing, but I was writing this part when I was still debating how this would go, and I like 'atem is a trans guy' hc so... yeah. I probably won't be mentioning that in the text so here's that info now, that's why he knew it was an option.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atem is taken to Kul Elna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of throwing up but again, no detail.

He was allowed to ride without his chains, and his arms practically wept with relief. Bakura had only one horse, so he had to cling to the man’s back as they galloped through the desert. He’d been begrudgingly given a simple robe, and being able to wear a bit more (he only usually wore a shendyt to bed, but was in a robe otherwise back at the palace) helped Atem feel more comfortable, even as his mind ran in circles.

Now that he knew for sure what it was, he could feel the bump of his stomach pressed against Bakura’s back. It didn’t kick yet, but it made the ride nauseating, and more than once he was forced to tug at Bakura’s robe to be able to dismount and empty his stomach. The second time, Bakura had an expression that scrunched up his face and almost looked like pity.

“You better not get any on me.”

“I would, but then it would just get on me when we started moving again, and I’d smell it,” Atem mumbled, stomach still bubbling. He knew most people who went through this were excited to meet the child at the end, but he wasn’t sure it would be worth it even if he knew he’d get to keep them.

As is, he just wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep for months until it was over.

He clung to Bakura and tried to pretend he was a child again, learning to ride for the first time, but the lack of perfume on Bakura cracked the illusion as the horse trotted along.

Eventually, the air chilled, and Atem’s head started spinning. He raised his eyes to see where they were. A small village was before them- or at least, what was left of it. Roofs had caved in, walls were crumbling, and it was completely abandoned. The sand was lighter, ash woven into the ground.

“Is this…”

“Welcome to Kul Elna. What’s left of it.” Bakura dismounted, and Atem nearly fell over when he tried to follow, his center of balance off. “If you didn’t have those souls inside of you, they’d tear you to shreds.”

“Who would…?” Atem looked around, mouth falling open when he saw why the air was cooler here- distorted ghosts roamed, little more than half-melted heads and hands. “Those are-”

“My family, and everyone else,” Bakura said curtly. "They look like that because they were melted to power the gold that made the Items." Atem set a hand on his stomach without thinking.

“I-”

He didn't want to feel bad for Bakura. The man had kidnapped him, threatened to hurt everything he cared about, and had already put him through over two months of hell with seven more to come. 

But  _ no one  _ deserved this.

“I”m so sorry,” Atem said quietly. “I- I didn’t know.”

“That’s the problem. You sat atop your throne built on the blood of the peasants, and you stayed ignorant.” Bakura was clenching his fists, teeth clenched. Atem was almost certain that if he turned around his eyes would be wavering with the beginning of tears.

“You thought this would make me see?”

“I thought it would make you  _ pay. _ ” Bakura said, falling to his knees and leaving Atem looking down at him. 

“It won’t bring them back.” Atem kneeled down, the bottom of his robe brushing the sand, and Bakura pushed him away so he fell back on his butt.

“But it can help a few of them, and it will hurt you.” Bakura snarled.

Atem pulled his knees up to his belly, looking around the ruined village.

_ Not as badly as you were hurt. _

He didn’t voice it aloud, but the thought curdled in his brain. If Bakura was right, wasn't just deranged from his isolation out in the desert, his family had done this. They’d ruined this place, and this man. The ghosts proved that _something_ awful had had happened. His first idea of revenge was to try and bring some of them back.

Bakura grabbed his wrist, pulling him up and dragging him through the main street to an entrance underground that looked more like a hole.

“Feel that?”

Atem’s eyes widened, and he sank to one knee. His chest ached, and if he hadn’t already completely emptied his stomach, the churning inside would have done it.

“What… _is_ that?”

“Some of the most concentrated shadow magic on the planet.” Bakura said. “That is where the Items were created, where I lost everything.”

Atem knew shadow magic. He’d worn the Puzzle long enough to recognize it. But it was nothing compared to the vile magic radiating from that hole, and he instinctively knew the thief was telling the truth.

Somehow, it was familiar enough that it had to be what Bakura said, and that made his stomach flip for a completely different reason.

His family had done this.

“Okay.” Atem said, mostly to himself.

“Okay, what?” Bakura raised an eyebrow as the ghosts above wailed.

“Perhaps there’s some human left inside of you after all, if you did this to try and set some cursed souls free."

Bakura raised an eyebrow. “Admitting I’m right?”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Still, as his stomach squirmed, he ran a hand over the slight curve. “You did this without even knowing me, after all.”

“I didn’t need to know you. You never knew me, or any of this, and that's reason enough.” Bakura said, pulling Atem up and dragging him over to one of the more intact houses. The nausea from being handled roughly after exposure to the untamed shadow magic kept him on the mat he’d been tossed on top of while Bakura spent a few minutes going through the bags. Knowing he wouldn’t have gotten far if he'd run, though, didn’t keep him from being furious with himself for not trying to escape before Bakura chained him back up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are super appreciated!


End file.
